Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has called a special session starting June 5. However, House Speaker Philip Gunn said he doesn’t expect lawmakers will debate creating a state lottery. The expected agenda of the session, Bryant said, will be to write budgets for the attorney general and the Department of Transportation for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Regarding a lottery, Gunn said, “I think something of that magnitude is going to require an enormous amount of study and analysis. I don’t know that we have time to analyze that and digest it within the next three weeks.” Gunn, who personally opposes a lottery, appointed a committee to study the issue. “I think we need to be educated on what we’re doing before we do anything,” he said.
Mississippi is one of six states without a lottery. Bryant asked lawmakers this year to consider a lottery as a way to generate revenue since state tax collections have been lower than expected. He noted Mississippi is losing money as residents drive to other states to buy lottery. Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves questioned if a lottery would generate new revenue or simply shift how people spend money.
Bryant’s spokesman Clay Chandler said the special session “will focus on issues of the budget and revenue. The governor will decide what , if anything, will be included beyond the agency appropriations as we get closer to June 5.”
